


The Botanist and the Faerie Man

by snowyfoxpaws



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Fae & Fairies, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-03
Updated: 2014-05-21
Packaged: 2018-01-18 00:44:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1408717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snowyfoxpaws/pseuds/snowyfoxpaws
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alfred has always taken pride in his love of science.</p><p>Luckily, he makes room in his life for a little magical man that seems to defy everything he has ever known.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Alfred F. Jones was a botanist.  
  
Glamorous, right? But, no, he actually quite prided himself on his study of flora. It wasn't a path that he would have expected for himself, but he liked to attribute that to chance. As child he had always loved exploring the woods that ran the outskirts of his town, but one day he had stumbled upon a strange flower. Now, being only twelve, he logically brought it back to his mother, who tended a flower shop, and asked her what it was.  
  
And, to his complete surprise, she hadn't known.  
  
He made the papers with that discovery and, somehow, his interest in plants took proverbial _root_. He began to read all about them, learning what he could, and suddenly the world opened up to him.  
  
When he would go play with his friends, the dog in the backyard didn't just dig up  _flowers_ , it dug up tulips of the genus  _Tulipa_.  
  
When his mom asked him to pick out the weeds from the yard, what she really meant was uproot dandelions from the genus  _Taraxacum_ \-- not to be confused with  _false_  dandelions which were actually from the genus  _Hypochaeris_  and didn't grow in his yard to begin with.  
  
And then, once he had gotten to high school, it had been impossible to  _unsee_  the world in this fashion. A glance at a bloom brought a wealth of information to the forefront of his mind and that fascination carried with him all the way to university, where he had majored in botany.  
  
He would be the first to say it wasn't a very practical career choice, but he would be the last to say it had been a bad one. He loved his work. He loved the forest he had roamed as a child.  
  
And, now, he loved the beautiful white flower that had started everything.  
  
He knew the ins and outs of it as though it were a lover or a friend-- that flower was his companion through the lonely nights as he stared at diagrams and samples, running his experiments and noting down his findings. It was a new species-- it was  _his_  species.  
  
The newspapers had taken to calling it the Jones' Star, a combination of the name of the one who had found it and the pearly white glimmer of its soft petals.  
  
And now that star was his life.  
  
  
  
Alfred flicked his pen in his hands, rotating the little, metal object absentmindedly as the storm outside raged against his cabin walls. The lights would flicker, but they remained stable so he payed it no mind. It wasn't unusual to have sudden downpours like this in spring, after all.  
  
Leaning back in his desk chair, he heaved a sigh and rubbed at his forehead and, as he glanced up at the window, he was slightly distressed to find that the overcast afternoon had given way to overcast early evening.  
  
"Lunch." He muttered to himself, having lost track of time. "Right."  
  
Sparing his documents one last longing glance, he stood from his chair and stretched, his spine popping lightly with the effort.  
  
"Damn..." Alfred laughed to himself. "I've been sitting here way too long." Wandering down the hall and into the kitchen, he heard the soft pad of paws on the tile as his large, fluffy cat came into view, lazily strolling by. "Heya, Hero, you want some food too?" He said, leaning down to fill the cat's bowl with some dry mix.  
  
He frowned as Hero barely paid him any mind, continuing on into the living room as his white fur glowed in the dim lighting.  
  
"Hero?" He said, perplexed. That cat had never, not one day in its life, turned down food. He followed after, a knot in his stomach at the idea that he might be sick.  
  
The fluffy monstrosity had gone to its bed and was kneading the plush material with vigor as turned around once and then lied down. For a moment, Alfred could have sworn that he had seen something in its mouth.  
  
If so, that certainly explained the uncharacteristic lack of meowing.  
  
"Whatcha got there boy?" He said, kneeling down by pet's bed. It wouldn't have been the first time he had caught a mouse or a rat but he could honestly say it had been a while. Hero was getting a tad  _pudgy_  after all.  
  
The cat seemed to finally notice him, dropping the small item and meowing at him happily as his tail flicked back and forth with an eager sort of pride.  
  
Leaning closer, Alfred peered at the object in the dark.  
  
And then he stared.  
  
It... It looked like a _doll_.  
  
Yes, it was definitely the figure of a human and it was wearing some kind of strange, simplistic clothing. He cocked his head at the item, feeling a chill go up his spine. This was like the beginning of some horror movie wasn't it? His cat finds a child's doll and then the ghost of the child comes looking for it...  
  
"W- well, isn't that nice!" Alfred told his cat with forced enthusiasm, the animal not really caring to pick up on his tension as it purred to itself. He slipped his hand down to pick the small doll up, but when his fingers met it... it was _warm_.  
  
Carefully maneuvering the item into his hand, he took it, much to Hero's distress, and wandered into the kitchen, holding it under a light.  
  
His breath caught.  
  
The... the  _thing_  looked a little ragged and muddied, but, if it _was_ a doll, it was an exceptionally detailed one. It's skin was a creamy, pale white and its hair as soft as a fawn's hide.  
  
And then the doll's arm twitched and he had nearly dropped it in his surprise.  
  
Staring down at his shaking hands he watched as the doll turned over onto its side, as though this little figure was sleeping and not, well,  _inanimate_.  
  
"What...?" He breathed, brow furrowing.  
  
Perhaps he was still at his desk, asleep and dreaming.  
  
Alfred bit his lip, felt pain, and discarded that idea.  
  
Unable to think of anything better to do, he returned to his office and walked over to the small tank that had only just been cleared out and cleaned after he had given away some of his samples to a local grade school for the children to study. Grabbing a small towel, he put the fabric down on the bottom of the tank and then, very carefully, placed the small, human-like creature atop it. He finished by sliding the screen over the lid, just in case his cat might like to try to eat it again.  
  
 _Whatever it was_.  
  
And that was the million dollar question, wasn't it? What  _was_  this? He still wasn't convinced that he wasn't dreaming or, hell,  _hallucinating_ , but this was the only course of rational action either way when studying something new and strange.  
  
Leaning down, he stared into the tank at the face of the little creature. It looked... _male_ , from the haircut, but he couldn't be certain without prying up its clothes and he wasn't quite ready for  _that_  level of study, dream or no. It's face, now that he could see it up close, actually looked fairly red and its breathing seemed labored.  
  
So... it must have been sick and possibly passed out. That would be how Hero came across it and yet didn't scratch or kill it... right?  
  
Trying to think around this made his head spin. This was _absurd_.  
  
But... no, this was reality.  
  
Alfred swallowed as he stood up again, staring down at the tank.  
  
If his mother had still been alive, she probably wouldn't have known what  _this_  was either.


	2. Chapter 2

When Alfred awoke the next day, the little man in the tank was gone.  
  
The lid was still securely attached and the towel was still sitting in the bottom, so it was apparent that he had, at least,  _thought_  there was a little man. He hadn't realized just how badly sleep deprivation could affect him, all things told. That was a bit worrisome. What if he somehow botched an experiment because he saw something that wasn't there or wrote down incorrect numbers or forgot to note something significant.  
  
Dragging a hand through his hair, he sat down at his desk with breakfast--coffee, eggs, and toast--and opened his laptop, busying himself with his morning emails as he ate. Perhaps he had been working a little too hard lately, so when he saw a message from an old acquaintance asking him out for drinks he felt compelled to respond with a positive answer, scheduling it down on his planner for Friday. A break would do him a world of good, really.  
  
Once the egg and toast were gone, he sat back and sipped nimbly at the broiling cup of coffee, black as night where it rippled in his cup. He had acquired the taste for it during his college years, when cream and sugar were expensive luxuries he simply couldn't afford.  
  
Movement out of the corner of his eyes caught his attention and he turned to look without thinking.  
  
The tiny man was staring out at him from the tank.  
  
Alfred sat up straight, slowly lowering his mug to the table. His mind whirred in thought before he realized the disheveled state of the towel and it dawned on him that the thing must have been hiding within it, away from prying eyes.  
  
He wasn't sure whether he felt like a predator or prey as he stared at the creature, unwilling to move lest he startle it. Now that he was looking in the light of day, he could see that he was so very  _human_  in appearance. It was like someone had taken a man and shrunk him down to a mere two inches tall.  
  
In fact, it looked  _exactly_  like that.  
  
And Alfred wasn't really sure how react. It was difficult to make out an expression, even from this short distance, but the fact that the little man hadn't all just been a clever dream left him with more than something to chew on. This was an unprecedented discovery. Perhaps the man had been shrunk down by a machine kept hidden? Perhaps the man was part of some sort of secret race of mini-men? Perhaps he was a very advanced, AI doll that had somehow ended up in Alfred's home? The possibilities were endless.  
  
The little man tapped at the glass and the spell was broken as Alfred stood with a jerk and approached the tank, watching in rampant fascination as the man backed away from the glass warily.  
  
He kneeled, making himself just about the height of the tank as he peered inside. The tiny man's face was still red with flush and he looked exhausted...  
  
No, he looked  _sick_.  
  
The man held out his hand as though it were holding an invisible cylinder. Then he brought that imaginary item to his lips as though he were drinking from a cup.  
  
... Water.  
  
The man wanted water.  
  
"One sec." Alfred told him as he stood and went for the kitchen, hardly able to comprehend what he had just seen. So it was obviously very intelligent. That only heightened his opinion that this was just a small human or an AI.  
  
He returned with a cup of water and a tea spoon. Although risky, he removed the lid from the tank, watching the man for any sudden movements. When there were none, he dipped the teaspoon into the water and lowered it into the tank, placing it on a level part of the towel in the corner before retracting his hand and securing the lid again.  
  
Alfred watched in fascination as the small man immediately went for the water once his hand had been removed, cupping tiny palms into the liquid before drawing it to his mouth.  
  
"I'm sorry I don't have any cups your size..." Alfred found himself saying, although it was absurd to think that he  _would_  have them. Maybe a thimble would work, but he was really not the type of person to be hoarding random sewing equipment.  
  
To his surprise, the man stopped to look up at him, hesitating between drinks of water. Then he seemed to decide something because he shook his head and returned his attentions to the tea spoon.  
  
Odd.  
  
He knelt down again, wondering if the creature knew human language too-- let alone English. "Do you need anything else?" He asked, testing the water. "You look a little red. Are you sick?"  
  
Again he gained the man's attention, for which he felt triumphant. There was a pause as the creature considered him, a torn expression flickering across that tiny face.  
  
He was actually quite surprised when he stood and approached the glass, placing his palms casually up against the surface as he leaned forward to look back up at him.  
  
He opened his mouth for a moment, but no noise came out. Closing it, he pointed to his face and then to his throat, looking visibly weary. Alfred thought about this for a moment.  
  
"So... you lost your voice...?" He ventured.  
  
The man nodded and he felt an interesting spark of interest in his chest. They were having a real _conversation_  here.  
  
"Are you sick?"  
  
He won another nod.  
  
"Will human medicine help you?" He asked. The little man shrugged, looking as uncertain as Alfred felt. His expressions really were  _human_. He  _was_  human, no matter what other label one might affix to him. It soothed a lot of Alfred's worries, but it brought forth so many more  _questions_...  
  
Deciding to try his luck anyway, he gave the tiny man a quick, "I'll be right back." before stepping out of the room and into the hall. A search of the medicine cabinet--barring anything in pill form, obviously--brought him down to cough syrup. It had fever reduction as part of the label, but would it be safe for a tiny human...?  
  
He couldn't really risk it, could he? Were he to accidentally kill him, he would never be able to live with himself.  
  
Returning, he gave the man an apologetic look. "I don't really have anything I could safely give you..." He told him.  
  
The man looked like he had expected this.  
  
Alfred cocked his head at him, biting his lip for a moment. "Do you... have a name I can call you?" He asked.  
  
The creature's eyes widened slightly and, after what appeared to be some kind of internal struggle, nodded. Stepping forward he breathed a tiny fog onto the glass and wrote his name backwards so that Alfred would be able to read it from his side-- with English letters.  
  
It said  _Arthur_.  
  
In that moment, as he learned his name, Alfred was gripped with a pervasive feeling of awe. This encounter was almost too surreal to comprehend.  
  
For the first time in many years, his mind was captivated by something that wasn't a flower.


	3. Chapter 3

Arthur's health seemed to be rapidly deteriorating.

Alfred wondered distantly if that was why he hadn't cared much to look too unhappy about being held in a tank. Perhaps he thought that if he were dying it didn't matter. That sort of thinking made sense, but it was also extremely unsettling, as though Arthur was planning for that enclosure to be his casket.

Well he wasn't about to stand for that.

It was the second day after he had found the man and he cleared his desk completely, draping a towel over the expanse of old wood rather than paper. Moving to the tank, he carefully extracted the tiny maybe-human, gently carrying him over to the desk and laying him down on a washcloth.

Arthur didn't protest because he couldn't. His eyes were firmly shut and there was an uncomfortable look on his face. His cheeks were flush and his skin had a sheen of wetness to it. His breathing came in short, soft pants. The whole thing reminded Alfred of when his pet hamster had died when he was a child, but he pushed that thought away, the idea leaving a sick weight in his stomach.

He steeled himself for the first phase of his plan. He had a tea cup at ready, only partially filled with warm water, and he very delicately tugged the small clothes off of the dead-to-the-world being with a pair of tweezers. It was a fragile operation, but in his line of work he was well used to dealing with painfully small objects.

Still, that didn't change how guilty he felt for doing this. Undressing someone while they were unconscious was pretty high up there on the not okay scale, but he was only doing it to give him a bath. Arthur obviously couldn't get better if he was lying there in sweat-damp and dirt covered clothing.

Once nude, Alfred carefully lowered him into the cup, settling him just so. His back was curved along the side and his head lolled back onto the porcelain of his mother's old set, but he seemed secure enough.

Alfred wasn't taking any chances, however. He pulled the bowl he had prepared forward, dipping the clothing into the water as he kept an eye on the soaking man. He scrubbed the dirt and grime from the doll-like clothing as best he could with the aid of dish soap, hoping that it wouldn't agitate the him in some unknown way. After, he placed it under the lamp to dry.

Returning his attention to Arthur, Alfred frowned lightly as he picked up a cotton swap and lowered it into the water before beginning the delicate task cleaning him. He was entirely grateful that Arthur was unconscious for this, since he doubted the small man would appreciate being softly scrubbed down. He couldn't do much for his hair, but at the very least he would be much cleaner.

Extracting the being from the water, he lay him out on a wash cloth, gently patting him dry. The flush had subsided only slightly, but his breathing seemed to have eased somewhat. Taking a dry cotton swap, he dabbed it against the man's forehead to brush away any lingering moisture, cocking his head slightly as he pulled back those tiny bangs.

Eyebrows.

He felt a soft breath of a laughter leave his lips. Whoever--or whatever, this thing was--it had an impressive set of tiny eyebrows. He could make them out clearly, despite all of the small man's features being, well, smaller.

Turning in his chair, he pressed a finger to the drying clothes finding them to still be a bit damp.

Massaging his temples momentarily, he just stared down at the unconscious man, sitting there for what felt like hours. In actuality, it had only been about half of one, and when he checked the little articles of clothing again they were thankfully dry.

He went through the much more painstaking process of dressing him. The garb was simple enough-- some kind of cream colored nightgown looking thing and shorts that would have easily hidden beneath, unseen. It was why he had been uncertain of the being's physical sex at first, but he'd guessed and he'd guessed right.

He, unfortunately, now had rather intimate knowledge that he was correct.

Pushing that thought aside with a slight blush, Alfred gently picked up the wash cloth, the man, now clothed, still atop it, and placed him in the tank again. He looked better. Not by much, but it was something.

With that he left him alone, having done all that he could do.

The day passed by relatively quietly. Arthur moved only in that he would turn in his sleep on occasion, but otherwise he was motionless, and Alfred went back to his work, feeling very odd for having focused on something that wasn't his study. He didn't feel like he was behind, but he was somewhat plagued by this feeling of not getting enough done.

Checking in on the tank one more time before bed, Alfred turned in for the night.

 

 

 

The next morning he walked into the office to see Arthur sitting by the tea spoon, taking a drink. Relief bloomed in his chest and he approached the enclosure, bending down on one knee. "Hey, there. Feeling better?"

Arthur had been watching him from the moment he entered the room, but now he stood carefully on the rumpled towel before walking over to the glass wall. There was an odd look on his face-- something sort of stern about it.

The little man made a come hither motion and Alfred leaned forward awkwardly, wondering what he was going to do.

And then Arthur spoke, voice like a human's only immeasurably quiet with a humorous up pitch that wasn't as dramatic as he would have expected but was still fairly comical,

"You undressed me."

Those three words made a ripple of guilt go down Alfred's spine as he gaped slightly, forgetting for a moment just how odd this encounter really was as he focused instead on the words spoken.

"Y- you were sick-- I didn't know what else to do, so I washed your clothes and, uh, you, and... yeah." He knew his face was turning red.

Arthur was looking at him with that same expression, as though chiding, but it fell after a few moments and he must have realized that Alfred was sincere. "You will be forgiven... this once." He said, and Alfred had to hold his breath to properly hear it. "You will be spared death."

Alfred's eyebrows shot up and he really, honestly, didn't know if Arthur was joking when he said that. He didn't look like he was joking. "D- death...?"

"Yes." Arthur said stiffly. "Assaulting royalty is a criminal offense punishable by death. You humans are so ill versed in the ways of the fae, but had your intentions been anything less than noble you would have suffered a fate most unpleasant."

Royalty? Fae?

Like... faeries? Or was it fairies?

"Oh, well, um... That's... good." Alfred said. "The, uh-- the _not dying_ part."

Arthur looked expectant.

A moment of silence passed between them and the man--a self-proclaimed faerie--sighed, exasperated. "Release me."

"Oh! Yeah, I--,"

... Did he want to?

Alfred faltered.

He had on his hands a discovery so enormous that it could very well blow his precious flower out of the water. He had evidence of the supernatural, of all things. If he kept Arthur, he could become famous beyond his wildest dreams as he studied him and helped the world discover more about these strange little people that no one knew about.

It would put him down in the history books. He'd be a remarkable figure-- a household name.

... But he couldn't do that.

In his heart, he knew he couldn't do that. Plucking the flower he found as a child had killed it. He couldn't do that to something like Arthur, no matter what he stood to gain from it. He didn't want to hurt him. He wouldn't have been able to live with himself with a decision like that.

The faerie was watching him warily, the way he had hesitated obviously alarming him, but Alfred just sighed and removed the cover from the tank, lowering his hand so that he could climb onto it. Now it was Arthur's turn to hesitate, but after a moment he carefully climbed into his open palm, his hands feeling like a mouse's paws with how small they were.

Extracting his arm from the tank, he knelt again and lowered his hand to the ground, allowing the little man to slip off onto the old hard wood flooring. It was strange to see him there like that-- he was so tiny that Alfred felt a pang of worry. What if he got hurt?

No, that was a silly thought. He obviously was able to survive just fine on his own up until now. He didn't need some enormous, bumbling human like Alfred to protect him.

Arthur looked up again, gesturing him closer once more. He leaned down to hear what he had to say.

"Thank you, human. I will send you a token of my appreciation shortly." Arthur said. When he turned his head to look there was a warm smile on the tiny man's face.

His breath caught.

Such _vibrant_ green eyes.

"Until then." Arthur finished, lowering his head momentarily in acknowledgement before he turned and began to walk away. Alfred wasn't sure where he was going, but Arthur slipped under the crack in the door effortlessly and he couldn't find it in himself to ruin the moment by following him.

Swallowing, Alfred shakily clambered to his feet and just stood there, staring at where the faerie man had vanished.

 

 

 

This was only just the beginning.


	4. Chapter 4

When Arthur had said that he would send a token of his appreciation, Alfred hadn't known what to expect.

But he hadn't expected  _this_.

That night he had gone to bed feeling strangely subdued and, had he woken normally, he might have thought the entire episode one terribly elaborate dream, yet...

Yet he woke to little lights twinkling around his head instead and he stared at them. Sitting up, he felt his jaw drop.

The lights were dim and pleasant on the eyes, floating slowly, gracefully in the air throughout the entirety of the room, but that was not the strangest thing his gaze fell upon. No-- it was the ivy creeping up his walls and the flowers that peppered his floor from spontaneous blooms of grass.

Jones' Stars, every single one of them.

He carefully maneuvered himself out of bed, stepping gingerly around the plants as he exited his bedroom in naught more than dark blue striped pajama pants. Running a hand through his hair, he peered out the door frame, not entirely surprised to see the same strange flora continued throughout the rest of the cabin. "What in the world..." He murmured to himself. Was this what Arthur had meant?

Apparently no because a small voice chimed in his ear, "Good morning, sir!"

Alfred turned to look, eyes widening at the figure of a small girl. She was a little smaller than Arthur had been, the only major difference the elegant wings that protruded from her back. They didn't look like a bird's or even a butterfly's-- they seemed nearly transparent and made of woven, colored light..

"G- good morning..." Alfred belatedly stammered.

The girl--faerie?--seemed unphased by his blatant surprise. "I've prepared your breakfast, sir!" She chirped in the same cheery tone as before.

"O- oh? Ah, thank you..."

"You're welcome, sir!"

Alfred just stared at her for a moment, but she suddenly started off for the kitchen before he could say anything and he was unable to do much more than follow. Rounding the corner, he felt a ripple of shock at the food spread out across his table.

Every breakfast item imaginable in such quantity that Alfred would have trouble eating this much food in a single week. He could only gape at it.

"Is it to your liking, sir?" The faerie girl asked. He blinked at her.

"Y- yeah, I... Um..." Walking up to the food, he shook his head. "Thank you, but I really can't eat all this..."

"That's fine, sir!" The faerie reassured. "Please eat, sir!"

Alfred stared at the spread. "Well... alright. Thank you." He said slowly, sitting down. He helped himself to a little of everything and, to his complete surprise, everything tasted absolutely  _perfect_. It felt like he was eating breakfast at a five star restaurant and, on his current budget, he could barely just afford toast and cereal.

Needless to say, he stuffed his face.

The faerie watched him, looking pleased by his obvious enjoyment, but she said nothing.

Once he had finished, leaning back in his chair with the distinct feeling that he was going to be very, very bloated soon, Alfred looked at her, "Thank you. I'm guessing that was, uh... the gift from Arthur? For his appreciation and everything?" It only made sense.

He was relieved when the faerie nodded from where she sat perched on the back of a chair.

"That's pretty nice of him."

The faerie just nodded again, silent.

Alfred hesitated. "Is... Is there  _more_  to it?"

She looked at him, perplexed. "More to what, sir?"

"More to, uh... his token of appreciation? I guess? I mean, this was all pretty amazing. I can't imagine what I did was worth anything near what this food cost, but I'd feel bad if there was more."

The faerie was just staring at him, brow furrowed. "This is just breakfast, sir." She said slowly.

"You said it was his gift." Alfred pointed out, leaning forward. "Just a moment ago."

She nodded, "Yes. This is part of Arthur's  _appreciation_." She paused, looking at him with eyes that he could have sworn were glowing. " _Our appreciation_." And then, "Sir."

"So this wasn't it?"

"This is just breakfast, sir." She repeated, standing on the back of the chair. She floated effortlessly into the air, looking at him with tiny, serious eyes.

Alfred felt more confused and intimidated than he thought was reasonable, considering her size and visual frailty. "What... happens after breakfast?"

The faerie smiled. "Your wedding, sir."


	5. Chapter 5

"Wedding--?" Alfred said, repeating the tiny faerie's words. He was certain he had misheard.

The creature just smiled at him, radiating innocence. "Yes, sir."

He shook his head. "No-- no, that can't be right. See, I'm not getting married. I don't even have an engagement ring." He showed her his hand, as if that were evidence. The faerie merely stared at it, a calculating expression on her small face. "So I think you've got the wrong person here."

The faerie laughed, the sound like twinkling bells. "No, you are the right human, sir." She looked up at him, small eyes filled with mirth. "You saved our prince, sir. The elders have decided that you shall take his hand in marriage, sir."

Alfred shook his head, "That is-- No, I mean-- I _can't_ marry him; I'm a guy and I'm not even a faerie!" He protested, anxious.

She made a soft hum noise before, "What did you think the food was for, sir?"

Alfred suddenly felt cold. "... What?"

The faerie smiled.

"What was the food for? What is it supposed to do?" Now that he thought about it, his entire body was beginning to feel heavy. A tremble of fear ran through him. "What did you do to me!?"

"Calm down, sir." She said, not looking the least bit sympathetic. "You will be asleep when it happens, sir."

"What?" He breathed.

Her small lips curled into a delighted smile as she clapped her hands together in a fluid, decisive motion.

Everything went dark.

 

When Alfred awoke next, his entire body felt strange, as though his blood was alive with energy, and he opened his eyes suddenly, jerking up into a sitting position.

The first thing he noticed was that he was in a bed and, for one, blissful moment, he thought everything had been a dream--

The second thing he noticed was that this bed was not _his_ bed.

It was an elaborate, four-poster design with gaudy purple silks and blankets, but what really struck him was that the grain of the wood looked large and strange and fibers of the cloth were thick too and-- and--

He peered into the so-called room, feeling faint at the sight of what appeared to be the inside of a tree if the strange, sloping walls were any indication. There were little items laying about decoratively, but they were odd and, to his mind, seemed novelty. A plush rabbit larger than he was with large stitching and button eyes and even a...

A thimble so big he could have used it for a chair.

Alfred dragged his hands over his face. "Oh no." He said. "Oh no, oh no, oh no-- I'm dreaming-- this is a dream-- I'll wake up and go back to my studies and my flowers and then go out to the pub and--," He looked out at the room again from between his fingers, "and... and this isn't real." He said firmly, getting out of bed. He was dressed in some long, simple nightgown looking thing, not unlike the kind Arthur had been wearing...

There was a window and he went for it, staring out what, for all intents and purposes, looked like a knot in a tree.

All he could see was leaves-- enormous leaves, wet and slick with fat droplets of rain.

This was a very _elaborate_ dream.

He'd bet he'd fallen asleep at his desk again. That always gave him the worst sleep but the most vivid imaginings.

The sudden noise of a heavy door opening made him reel around and he was startled to find the face of the faerie girl looking in--

Except now she was _his_ size or-- or was he _her_ size? Either way, she appeared a head shorter than him and as she moved into the room her glimmering wings drifted in gracefully after. "It is nice to see you awake, sir!" She chirped, although now her voice was no longer a squeaking pitch but, instead held a pleasantly soft depth.

"Uh..." He managed in response. There was a deep set feeling of panic in him but he had no idea how to react to it.

She seemed to care very little about the lack of conversation, instead approaching on quick heels with an elaborate looking suit. "We mustn't waste any more time, sir, the procession has been waiting long enough." She told him, delicate fingers moving to grasp at the nightgown he wore. "You must change quickly, sir."

"But I--," Alfred gripped his clothing, not allowing her to strip him.

The faerie gave him a deceptively cheerful smile. "We must hurry now, sir, you would not want to miss your own wedding, would you--?"

Alfred was about to protest when she continued:

"If you do not hurry, they may put you to death, sir."

Silence stretched between the two of them as he stared at her, searching her eyes for signs of a bluff, but he could find no reason to believe that she was lying...

And was it really worth the risk to find out?

"Okay." He said slowly, a sudden feeling of resignation seeping into him as his grip on his clothing loosened.

"Very good, sir."

 If this was a dream then it didn't matter if he went along with all of this, right?

... Right.

He just needed to survive until he woke up, was all.


	6. Chapter 6

Alfred wasn't exactly sure what he had expected when he stepped out of that room in an elaborate white suit, a headdress of sorts weaved into his hair that looked like it was embedded with gems and flowers. It was gaudy in a weird way, but it had a very careful design that he couldn't help but to admire.  
  
There were faeries everywhere, all eyes on turning as the one in charge of him led him through great, winding halls of what he was now certain was a tree. Eventually they came to a large inner chamber, the very air filled with glowing, glittering bodies as wings glimmered on the backs of all of them, eyes now trained on Alfred.  
  
The path he was on led to an alter of sorts, and so his eyes were, naturally, drawn to it, but then he felt something cold and hard drop into his stomach at the sight before him.  
  
Arthur stood there.  
  
Arthur stood there with his wrists bound painfully in front of him, gagged, wings on his back that Alfred hadn't seen on him before, soft green and translucent like the others. His expression was hunted when he spotted Alfred, like a deer staring down a wolf, and Alfred suddenly became  _painfully_ aware that something was terribly, terribly wrong.  
  
"Hey, wait, um--,"   
  
The fae woman who guided him flashed him a smile as she shook her head. "You must stay quiet, sir." And then, "Your life depends on it, sir."  
  
Somehow Alfred wholeheartedly believed her now.  
  
Once they reached the altar, he was positioned across from Arthur, who was shorter than himself and still very much gagged. They stared at each other, those thick brows now seemingly more alive as they quirked pleadingly at him, a muffled noise beneath the sound of a gag. Alfred could only look at him, the faeries that surrounded them making him feel very, very small.  
  
An older looking fae stood before them, his dress giving him away as a priest of sorts. "We are gathered here today, within the circle of Helios and Selene, to bind together these two young f--," the priest faltered slightly, frowning, " _individuals_ ," he amended, "in this ceremony of matrimony."  
  
"Um-- e- excuse me." Alfred stammered, attempting to get the priest's attention. Perhaps if he explained that he didn't want to be married, they would just let him leave--?  
  
The old man looked at him, wide-eyed, as hushed murmurs ran through the procession.  
  
Despite being bound, Arthur used his tied together hands to lightly hit Alfred in the chest, shaking his head back and forth feverishly with a wild look in his eyes.  
  
There was such a fierce, desperate quality to them that Alfred immediately closed his mouth, rigid, looking down at the strange, cloth shoes on his feet as if to pretend he hadn't said a word at all.  
  
After a pause, the priest cleared his throat and the fae in the air fell silent again. "As I was saying... ah..." The priest licked his lips, thinking. "Ah, yes." He raised his staff, "As bid by the council of eleven, these two shall now be joined together in marriage." And then he slammed the flat edge of the staff into the ground, a brilliant light flooding out from the location of impact.  
  
It was blue and frenzied, electric, and it split into twin serpents of light, flickering across the floor and up their bodies. The strange, non-creatures danced up and up and up until Alfred saw the one on Arthur slip through the gag over his mouth as though it weren't there, the fae's eyes widening in surprise moments before Alfred felt electric heat ghost into his own mouth and down his throat, a pained spasm in his chest that felt like some kind of explosion. He doubled over slightly, clutching his chest, but no one batted an eye.  
  
"I hereby announce thee wed." The priest said shortly as small girl handed him a pitcher of water. It had flowers floating within it. "Share contact so that I may bind you."  
  
Hands pressed at Alfred's back and he could see, across from him, another faerie pushing Arthur forward as well until they were chest to chest.  
  
The pitcher was held above them and then, suddenly, tipped, the water pouring down as lightning fire burned in his chest, rising to a feverish pitch before he felt a jolt rush through him and then out, reeling as he was hit with something else instead. Arthur's body mimicked his own and, for a moment, he wondered if something had jumped between them in a trade.  
  
The priest clapped his staff down onto the ground again, all silent save for the vibrations in Alfred's body that made him feel as though he were buzzing. "Now we shall wish the happy couple well and feast as they consummate their bond upon the wedding bed." He announced.  
  
Hands suddenly grabbed at Alfred's now soaked body, manhandling him, too many to count as he was led from the room, Arthur pushed along behind in much the same manner.  
  
It wasn't until they reached a darkened chamber, thrust into the room as the door shut with a hollow thump, that they were left in peace. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust, but when they did he could make out a bed that was illuminated dimly by a strange skylight that displayed rain and an overcast moon.  
  
"Mmph!"  
  
Alfred jerked into awareness, looking at Arthur in surprise before realization dawned on him and he went to undo the binds, the ties knotted and gnarled and made of what looked to be vines. As soon as he had his hands free, Arthur pulled off the gag.  
  
"Oh sweet flora and fauna!" He... cursed? At least it sounded like a curse. Arthur was breathing in as though he had never had air before, dragging a hand through his mussed locks. Then the faerie exhaled, long and deliberate, looking small and broken and defeated. "You... don't know any of what just happened, do you?" He said, his voice sounding hollow.  
  
Alfred's brow furrowed. "We were married." He said slowly.  
  
Arthur shook his head. "No." He exhaled the word, looking up at him. "We were sacrificed."


	7. Chapter 7

"What?" Alfred said, uncomprehending. "We're alive though-- how were we just sacrificed? I don't--,"  
  
"Don't what?" Arthur cut him off. " _Understand?_   Of course you don't-- you're just a human!" The faerie ran a hand through his hair, openly exasperated as he picked himself up and began to pace the room. "How are you supposed to understand us? How are you supposed to understand gods?" He threw his hands up. "What were they thinking!?"  
  
Now Alfred really,  _really_  didn't understand and he sat back, politely keeping his mouth shut. That didn't save him, however, as Arthur quickly turned on him again, looking fairly livid, which was honestly a humorous sight with such elegant wings curling up off of his back. He looked like something straight out of Disney.  
  
"Eas and Eos." Arthur said. " _Eos_  and  _Eas_."  
  
"If that's supposed to mean something to me--,"  
  
"I know." The faerie groaned, rubbing his face with his hands. "I know. You don't understand. I'm sorry. Let me process this for a moment." And with that Arthur took to pacing again, looking very deep in thought.  
  
Considering that Alfred had no idea what to make of the situation, he instead focused on the being in front of him. It was odd to see him close up like this. Alfred knew that it was really himself that was  _smaller_  now, but he still couldn't help but process this as Arthur being  _bigger_. He was just as he had looked before but... more _real_ , somehow.  
  
And he was pretty cute too.  
  
Alfred had long been aware of his own sexuality. It didn't really surprise anyone that knew him that he was very much okay with both apples and oranges, so to speak. Why pick when you could have both? What mattered was what was on the inside, right?  
  
And, honestly, he had a bit of a weakness for accents. He wasn't sure why, but the faerie's lilt sounded English in nature and he wondered if maybe they originated from there. That would be pretty interesting right? It was possible that they had even retained it through isolation, although if they could understand humans at all it seemed odd to not catch onto more modern ways of speaking...  
  
"Okay." Arthur said suddenly, interrupting Alfred's thoughts. He strode across the room, practically falling to his knees in front of the sitting human, and pulled his collar, drawing him into a sudden, rough kiss.  
  
It felt like he'd be struck by lightning and he was falling into the feeling only to jerk back when harsh reality fell down upon him as Arthur pulled away again. "Hey--,"  
  
"See." Emerald eyes were glimmering at him. "Do you understand now?"  
  
"No." Alfred said. The only thing he understood at this moment was that his mind was still swimming from the most  _intensely pleasurable_  kiss he had ever received.  
  
The faerie sighed. "Do you remember the snakes?" He asked. "The ones that came out of the high elder's staff?"  
  
High elder--? Oh, the priest. "Yeah, I... I guess I remember. They were snakes?"  
  
"Eas and Eos." Arthur said again. "They're gods."  
  
Alfred frowned slightly. He'd never been one for mythology. "O- okay..."  
  
The faerie rolled his eyes. "Alright, I'll... try to explain." He said, rubbing his temples now. "It's hard to put into words, you see. Like if you tried to explain breathing to me..."  
  
"You don't breath?"  
  
"Never mind." Arthur shook his head, shushing him. "Now just listen, alright?"  
  
Alfred settled in, suddenly realizing that he was prepared to sit here all night as long as Arthur kept talking with that wonderful, melodic voice of his.  
  
"Eas and Eos are the names of the two gods that watch over the fae." He said slowly, watching Alfred carefully to make sure the human was paying attention. "Every one thousand years or so, two of our kind are imbued with their magic and bound together as..." Arthur hesitated, making something of a face. "As... husband and wife, you could say. Or, er... yin and yang, perhaps? Does that make sense? They're two opposing forces combines but opposite each other and they belong in unity."  
  
"Okay..." Alfred said slowly, trying to parse all of this.  
  
"Well, you have been blessed by Eas, and myself by Eos, in a ceremony. They call it a wedding, but... it's more like we become more than what we are."  
  
Alright, that was a bit out of his depth. "What?"  
  
"More than-- more than  _human_  or  _faerie_. We're not  _us_  anymore, strictly speaking. Who we were has died. We're technically Eas and Eos now." The faerie crossed his arms, frowning. "Which is why it is extremely troublesome to me that  _you_  are a human."  
  
This was all giving Alfred a headache. "Yeah, okay, I'm lost. I don't understand this and I've got more questions than I can count right now." He rubbed at his head. "And I kind of just want to go to sleep and then go home, if that's alright?"  
  
Arthur was staring at him, eyes wide but completely unreadable. It looked like he was lost in thought.  
  
"Hey-- did you hear me--?" He waved a hand in front of the slimmer man's face--he was actually quite feminine in appearance, when you got right down to it. "You in there?"  
  
"What? Oh-- yes." Arthur frowned. "What were we talking about?"  
  
The human laughed. "That's my line. Like, I don't know about this god stuff. Can't they pick someone else? I just want to go home."  
  
Arthur's wings twitched almost imperceptibly. "You can't leave." The faerie said. "Or, rather, if you leave, I must go with you."  
  
Alfred perked up at this. "So then it's possible to leave?" He said, picking out only the part that really mattered. "Can you make me my normal size again?"  
  
"Of course." Arthur looked annoyed. "How weak do you think I am?"  
  
"Great!" He had no idea what was going on here, but if he was allowed to go home then he really didn't care about all the nitty-gritty details. He could just get back to his cat and his flowers and his research and put all of this behind him like the dream that it probably was. "When can we go?"  
  
The faerie opened his mouth, hesitated, and the flushed a light red as he looked away.  
  
That was oddly uncharacteristic of him. "What? Don't tell me there's a catch?"  
  
"Oh. No. Not quite." Arthur bit his lip and then looked up, a stern expression on his delicate features. "They won't let us leave this chamber until we consummate our bond as Eas and Eos." He explained.  
  
Alfred blinked. "Consummate?"  
  
"Sex." Arthur sighed, eyes glowing with resignation in the dim lighting. "They want us to have sex."


End file.
